


We saw brilliance when the world was asleep

by StarsAlignedinMisery (ADayDreamingDream)



Series: And the sky is a hazy shade of winter [2]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Alternate Universe - Daemons, Character Death, Cop Diego Hargreeves, Dark Klaus Hargreeves, Detective Diego Hargreeves, Ghosts, Gore, Knives, M/M, Mild Blood, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sober Klaus Hargreeves, Vigilantism, anger issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-06
Updated: 2019-05-14
Packaged: 2020-02-26 22:51:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18726457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ADayDreamingDream/pseuds/StarsAlignedinMisery
Summary: “Klaus, look at me.” He said, a gentle order. Klaus did so, his eyes seemed to be unfocused and glassy so Diego made sure he was really paying attention before asking the question again“What did David settle as?” He asked. Klaus sighed dreamily and stroked along Diego’s face“He was a snake. A Black Mamba. David settled as a Black Mamba the night you left me.” He said softly.





	1. I will wait in the dark for you

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys, this fic starts off dark please take this as your only warning. This fic starts off dark and I'm not sure if it's going to get much better in later chapters. If you don't mind a little dismemberment, blood, a dark Klaus or a possible tragic ending, then feel free to keep reading!

Klaus slid out of the club and stalked his prey down the street. He pulled a black mask on and flipped up the black hood of his black leather jacket before shoving his hands into the pockets. Ben followed, the silent watcher that Klaus always counted on. It turned out that when his daemon settled, David gained the ability to see Ben which made his job of protecting Klaus even easier. 

“Be careful Klaus, if this guy is who they say he is we might be in trouble.” Ben murmured as Klaus followed the guy he was stalking into an alley. The guy had a girl with him, pretty thing with a butterfly as a daemon that was fluttering weakly around her head. She was almost dead on her feet from whatever he had drugged her with. His daemon was sitting on his shoulder, a crow with black almost blue feathers. 

“Ready?” Klaus asked David who was curled around his arm under his jacket. He crouched down low enough for David to slither out of his sleeve and drop to the wet pavement with a soft plop before falling back to wait and let David work. 

“Shit!” The guy shouted and Klaus moved forward, pulling out the knife he carried. The guy had collapsed, dropping the girl and she staggered as she tried to stand

“Oh God. Oh God.” The girl cried as she collapsed into the wall. Klaus kneeled down beside her and gave her a light smile. She was terrified of him, he could see it in her eyes as she stared up at him

“It’s going to be okay, dear. My name is Black Mamba now close your eyes. It’s going to be alright.” He said stroking along her cheek. She flinched away from his icy touch but he didn’t mind. He was used to people flinching away from him. He turned to the would be rapist. 

“What to do with trash like you? My brother says you’ve drugged and raped three girls this week. The other’s I’ve talked to confirmed the story. Do you know what that means?” Klaus said. The man was shaking but he was mostly paralized by David’s venom. 

“What are you? Fuck, what did you do to me?” He snarled, his own daemon, twitching in David’s grasp by his side. The thing was plient but they had learned early on that David’s venom was less effective on other daemons than their human counterparts so David usually kept a hold on them until Klaus was done.

“It means you get your dick cut off.” Klaus said in a sweet voice. The man screamed when Klaus pulled his dick out. He turned to the girl who was watching in rapt horror

“Close your eyes darling. There are things in this world that pretty girls shouldn’t see.” Klaus said and the girl hurried to close her eyes. The rapist screamed when Klaus sliced the cock’s mushroom tip in one quick slice. Klaus kicked him over and tossed the piece he’d sliced off further into the alley and cleaned his knife off on the back of the rapist’s shirt. He returned the knife to it’s holster on his hip and turned to the girl. 

“Alright darling, let’s get you to a hospital.” He said lifting her off the ground. She clung to him, eyes still shut tight as he carried her out of the alley. He flagged down a cab and slid her in the back

“Nearest hospital please. She’s been given a date rape drug I think.” He said passing over two one hundred dollar bills. Once the cab had pulled away Klaus kneeled down so David could slide back into the sleeve of his leather jacket.

“Time to phone the cops.” Ben said and Klaus sighed

“Sometimes I wish you would let me let them just bleed out.” He muttered returning to the alley to grab the rapist’s phone 

“You bastard, you cut off my dick.” The man screamed, he was starting to gain a bit more mobility, fingers twitching along the ground as he tried to hit Klaus, but it would be several hours before he was fully able to move again. 

“Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency.” The operator said and Klaus held the phone out so she could hear the man yelling about his dick being cut off. He put the phone back up to his mouth and let out a low chuckle

“You might want to get here before he bleeds out.” He said, the voice moderator he had stolen from the Academy making it so that his voice wouldn’t be recognized. He dropped the phone beside the man and strolled out of the alley.

 

Diego hated this guy, the vigilante who called himself Black Mamba. He was a twisted version of what a vigilante should be, sometimes maiming his victims in brutal ways. He usually went after rapists, child molesters, abusers; the sort of crime that was hard to prove. He never killed outright, it seemed more his style to mutilate the people he found guilty of the crimes while saving their victims, but some of his earlier victims died from their wounds when the paramedics hadn’t been able to get to them in time. 

“Brooding over the Mamba again?” Eudora asked and Diego groaned

“He’s a fucking ghost. No DNA evidence at any crime scene, none of his victims or the people he rescues can give us an accurate description. All we know is that he uses diluted Black Mamba venom and is a male Caucasian. That could mean he’s anyone.” Diego said. Eudora grinned and handed him a file

“New victim. Eddie Wright and Samantha Cross. Eddie Wright was taken to Mercy Hospital with the tip of his penis cut off and Samantha Cross was driven to New Amsterdam because a guy paid the cab driver two hundred dollars to get her there claiming she had been drugged. Sound like our guy?” She asked and Diego took the file

“It’s just going to be a dead end, Eudora. Just like all the rest.” He said turning away from her to read the file

“The cab driver said he thought he saw a tattoo on the guy’s wrist when his jacket ridded up as he handed him the money.” Eudora said smugly. He turned back to her, closing the file as he did so

“What was the tattoo?”

“A red balloon.” Eudora said and Diego’s mind immediately flipped back to a time when he was seventeen and had found Klaus playing with a bandage on his left wrist. When he had pulled it back he had found a tattoo of a red balloon that looked like it was flying away in a breeze under it. Klaus had told him it was for Ben. 

“There could be a million people with that tattoo.” He said and Eudora smacked him lightly. 

“How many guys have a balloon tattooed on the inside of their wrist?” She asked playfully

“My brother got it when we were seventeen. Said it was a better tribute to our dead brother than the statue our father put up.” Diego said grimly. Eudora’s good mood evaporated at the mention of Diego’s family. She had never like that Diego had been a vigilante when he had been a kid. Said that vigianties were just criminals who pretended to be doing good. Diego had never fought with her about it, simply nodded his head at the right times and kept his mouth shut. 

“Patch! Sam needs you.” Quinn shouted and Eudora groaned, she scooped Conner, her sparrow daemon, up off Diego’s desk.

“I wish I wasn’t on vice. You get all the interesting cases and I’m stuck with druggies.” Eudora grumbled but headed off. Diego let out a soft sigh but turned back to his desk. He pulled out an old flip phone and dialed one of the numbers that was saved in there. It rang and rang before going to voicemail

“Hi, you reached Klaus. Leave a message and I’ll get back to you if I feel like it. If you really need me don’t bother calling again, I’ll more than likely ignore you again. If you’re Luther fuck off. Oh, and Ben says hi.” Klaus’ voice was light with laughter in the message and Diego felt his throat tighten. He closed the phone and tucked it back into its place in the drawer. The day he’d left the Academy had haunted him, the look on his brother’s face when he and abandoned him in that place. He’d gone back a week later to get Klaus only for Pogo to tell him the only sibling left at the Academy was Luther.

No one had heard from Klaus since. 

Not that Diego had time to look. 

His phone buzzed moments later and he answered it like he always did when he was working

“This is Detective Diaz.” He said, skimming over the information in the newest file. 

“Master Diego, this is Pogo. I have some unsettling news. Your father passed away last night.” Pogo said and Diego choked on his own spit

“What? What happened?” He asked, eyes wide in shock. The old man had finally croaked? Diego had thought he was going to live forever through sheer cruelty

“The coroner has ruled it a heart attack though I asked for an autopsy. Just to make sure.” Pogo said. Diego pinched his nose

“When is the funeral?” He asked knowing he would be required to attend.

“Next week. I have already made arrangements for Master Reginald to be cremated. Should I prepare for your girlfriend to attend as well?” Pogo asked and Diego sighed

“I’ll get back to you on that. Have you heard from anyone else?” He asked. There was a long pause before Pogo spoke again

“I have gotten in contact with Miss Vanya and informed her. Master Luther will be informed after you and Miss Allison’s assistant said she would pass the message along.” Pogo said. Diego grit his teeth for a second but the words slipped out anyway

“And Klaus?” He asked, hating how the words came out needy and broken.

“Master Klaus, I’m afraid, has yet to give me a way to contact him. I have found that someone has been taking out money from his royalty account.” Pogo said. Diego felt himself sag in relief. 

“Alright. Hopefully he attends. It would be good to see him again.” Diego said. Pogo said farewell before hanging up. Diego rose from his chair, he needed to speak with the chief to take the time off. Then he needed to talk to Eudora about whether or not she was coming along. 

“Come on Astrid.” He said and his daemon rose to follow him.

“Do you think he’ll come?” She asked softly and Diego sighed

“I don’t know. I really don’t.” Diego admitted.


	2. But if your hope should pass away simply pretend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I had a LOT of fun with this chapter! I hope you enjoy it!

Klaus stepped into the foyer of the Umbrella Academy leaving wet footprints in his wake. It was early, close to four in the morning but he hadn’t been able to rest in the homeless shelter he’d been calling home for the past two weeks.

“I wonder if anyone else is here.” Ben mused. Klaus rolled his eyes at how hopeful his brother sounded; Klaus had no illusions on how this would go. There would be a fight, most likely about how the old man had died. Diego would no doubt have the autopsy report read, he was a cop after all, but Luther would insist that it had been some sort of foul play. He had always been so far up the old man’s ass that he probably gave Reginald indigestion.

Klaus had read the autopsy too, having stolen a copy from the coroner’s office. He had paid specific attention to the tox screen knowing that the best way to get to a hermit who never left the house was to poison his food or drink. They had been clean, nothing in his system that shouldn’t have been there.

Reginald Hargreeves had died of a heart attack but he had already been dying from his organs shutting down. The heart attack had just killed him sooner and probably had been less painful.

“Not likely, the funeral isn’t until tonight. Everyone will arrive today.” David said from his hiding spot around Klaus’ arm but under his jacket. His head was tucked along Klaus’s shoulder, near his neck.

“Come on you two. We should go get some rest.” Klaus said before they could start squabbling. He headed towards the stairs and took them two at a time. Mom was in her charging station, and he wondered if she dreamed when she was charging. She was the only one he had had any contact with since he had left that fateful morning. He had made her promise never to tell Pogo when she fixed up the wounds he got from his fights. There weren’t many rules in the underground fighting circuit, pretty much the only rules that anyone followed was don’t kill your opponent and daemons weren’t allowed to participate.

 He slid along the halls of the dorms and peered into each room, just to make sure he was truly alone, not wanting to be ambushed by a sibling when he was sleeping.

He was alone.

Stripping off his gloves he set them on the bedside table in his room and then flicked his hood down. The voice modulator was attached to the inside of the hood, hidden right behind the seam at the edge.

“Are we going to go after that pedophile soon?” Ben asked and Klaus nodded

“Tomorrow night. He shouldn’t be hard. I was thinking about taking a finger for each child he’s touched.” Klaus said as David slid out of his jacket so he could take it off. Ben nodded

“That would take most of his fingers though. His hands would be useless afterwards.” Ben said and Klaus shrugged

“That’s his problem. Not mine.” He said. Ben sighed and rolled his eyes. He was used to the way Klaus operated, had been around since right before Klaus turned twenty when Klaus had started in the vigilante scene. It had started with a friend of his, another coke addict. She had been drugged and raped and no matter what Klaus said about it not being her fault she still couldn’t live with it.

He had tried to grab her before she tossed herself off the bridge, the sight of her body hitting the water would always haunt him.

It was because of this that he got clean; wanting to do something to protect those who could not protect themselves.

The police had given him the name Black Mamba because he always had David paralyze the abuser before he moved in to dole out punishment.

Ben may not have agreed with the way Klaus punished the people he targeted but he didn’t disagree that something needed to be done.

“I bet Diego will be the first one here. It’s been a while since I’ve seen Astrid.” David said and Klaus rolled his eyes

“We’ll need to be careful. Diego’s smart, he’ll put two and two together quickly.” Klaus said sitting on the bed and pulling his thick combat boots off.

“We could always act like we used to. You know, like an airhead.” David said and Klaus snorted

“No, I wouldn’t be able to pull that off for long. We’ll figure something out.” Klaus said flopping back on the bed. He was just falling asleep when he felt David slid under the blankets beside his head.

“Good night Klaus.” David said and Klaus let himself slide into sleep.

 

Diego dropped his bags on the bed he had slept in during his childhood. His room was still in good shape, Mom must have dusted regularly.

“We should go look around before anyone else arrives.” Astrid said, trotting to the door with her tail wagging. He agreed, and followed her towards their father’s room. It had always been in a separate section of the house than theirs. He and Klaus used to sneak into that section of the house when they wanted some alone time together because they both knew Luther would keep everyone else away sheerly because he believe it was all their father’s space. He pushed the door open and froze. Sitting on the bed was a thin figure facing away from him. The curtains were draw tightly shut so all he could see was a silluhete in the shadows. The person slid their hands into their pockets

“Hello Diego.” A hauntingly familiar voice said

_Can I come with you?_

“Klaus?” He asked, shock obvious in his voice. The figure stood and turned so Diego could see his face. It was indeed his little brother. Klaus gave him a twisted smile

“It’s been a while. You look good.” Klaus said and Diego felt speechless.

“When did you arrive?” Diego asked. Klaus shrugged

“Earlier. It was raining and I didn’t have anywhere to stay. Figured I might as well head here.” Klaus said before turning to the nightstand. He opened the top drawer and rifled through it

“What are you doing?” Diego asked stepping into the room. He felt half obligated to stop Klaus but also didn’t quite see the point because their father was dead and it didn’t matter anymore. The only one who would take offence to Klaus stealing anything would be Luther and he hadn’t arrived yet. Diego wasn’t sure where he was but figured he was probably on a mission since Pogo had to contact him.

“Not much. Dad has a lot of interesting things hidden around. I figured I would peek through them until Luther chases me off.” Klaus said pulling out a notebook and casually flipping through it. Diego watched him stunned.

“Find anything interesting?” Diego asked moving so he was standing beside his brother. They were so close

“Not really. There’s a notebook in his office about all of us but I barely made it through him preening about Luther for forty pages before I got bored.” Klaus said tossing the notebook onto the bed and pulling out a pocket watch. He flipped it open

“To Reginald, with love.” Diego said reading the inscription inside. Both he and Klaus made a face at the thought of someone actually loving their father. The watch itself wasn’t running, the hands sitting exactly on 12:06.

“I guess whoever this belonged to didn’t matter all that much.” Klaus said closing the watch. He tucked it into a pocket and continued to rifle through the drawer.

“What else have you stolen?” Diego asked amused. Klaus gave him a sinfully wicked grin

“Well I aim to please so whatever I could fit in my pockets. Why, you going to search me officer?” He asked teasingly. Diego grinned back

“I don’t know. Do I need to?” He asked, his voice dropping into husky arousal. Klaus turned to face him fully and looked him up and down in a way that made blood flow south.

“Only if it’s a strip search.” Klaus purred. Diego didn’t even stop to think about his actions, he shoved his way into Klaus’ space and pressed his lips to the other man’s. One hand found it’s way onto Klaus’ thin waist and he other sunk into his curls, pulling on them and causing Klaus to moan. Kissing Klaus after so long was like surfacing from under a lake and taking in that first breath of air after being deprived for so long. He chased the taste of vodka and lime that filled Klaus’ mouth. When they broke for air Klaus was breathing heavily and flushed.

“That was nice. Wanna defile Daddy dearest’s bed?” Klaus asked and Diego laughed.

“Maybe.” Diego said. He tossed Klaus down on the bed and pressed against him. Klaus moaned at the rough handling and Diego ground down on him causing him to arch his back. He was vaguely aware of Astrid trying to get his attention.

“What the hell are you doing?” Luther’s voice boomed through the room and Diego looked up with a salacious grin

“Nothing. Yet.” He said just to piss the giant off. And Luther really was a giant now, his body filling the entire frame of the door. Klaus gently pushed Diego off him and slid to his feet. His body was tense, like he was ready to either fight or run depending on how the encounter went.

“Get out.” Luther snapped and Klaus slid around the bed to do so. He was just passing the giant when Luther’s hand snapped out and grabbed him by the arm

“Drop everything you’ve stolen.” He snapped and Diego jumped in

“He didn’t take anything you idiot. We came in here together to get back at Dad by having sex on the bed.” He snapped moving to stand in front of his brother. Luther let go of Klaus and Klaus stumbled back rubbing his arm.

“You should respect our father more. He gave us so much.” Luther said and Diego rolled his eyes.

“He’s dead and you still are stuck up his ass.” He said pushing past Luther to stalk down the hall. Klaus slid beside him moments later

“Thank.” He murmured. Diego laced their fingers together and pulled the smaller man into his room. He pushed Klaus down onto the bed

“How have you been? No one’s heard from you in years.” Diego said, his voice soft with concern. Klaus shrugged, avoiding Diego’s gaze by picking at his nails

“I’ve been good, I’ve been bad. It’s not so bad on the street.” Klaus said.

“Where’s David?” Astrid asked and Klaus tensed. Diego looked around and realized Astrid was right. Klaus didn’t have David with him.

“Klaus. Where’s David?” He asked and Klaus let out a shuddery breath

“Gone. At least, as far as you guys can see. He, he died.” Klaus said softly. Astrid let out a soft whine and covered her nose with her paws. Diego blinked.

“How. What happened?” He asked. He had never heard of a daemon dying without their human following behind them quickly.

“I got in a fight with some guys. They wanted sex and I didn’t want to give it to them. One of them held him while they took turns with me and when they were done, they cut his head off. He became a ghost. He was so beautiful, so perfect.” Klaus said and Diego could tell he was close to tears.

“What did he settle as?” Diego asked and Klaus got a soft smile on his face

“He said he would protect me, because you were gone.” Klaus said as if Diego hadn’t spoken. Diego kneeled down in front of his brother and grasped him by his shoulders.

“Klaus, look at me.” He said, a gentle order. Klaus did so, his eyes seemed to be unfocused and glassy so Diego made sure he was really paying attention before asking the question again

“What did David settle as?” He asked. Klaus sighed dreamily and stroked along Diego’s face

“He was a snake. A Black Mamba. David settled as a Black Mamba the night you left me.” He said softly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: The time on the pocket watch is the time where Klaus reappears on the bus in the episode, Five. Not really important to the story itself but I thought it would be a cool Easter egg to throw in.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	3. Save tonight and fight the break of dawn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter has a bit of gore in it as well as talking about a suicide. Consider this fair warning

Klaus was the last one to arrive to Luther’s family meeting. He hadn’t really cared about going but Luther’s insistent ringing of the bell had started to drive him up the wall so he had joined his siblings in the family room.

“Nice of you to finally join us.” Allison quipped, Wesley on her lap as she stroked her daemon’s spine. It made him wish David would materialize so he could do the same.

“Let’s just get this started.” Klaus sighed heading over to the wet bar and pouring himself two fingers of whiskey. After a thought, he poured two fingers in another glass and handed it to Diego as he passed the other man.

“Thanks.” Diego said softly as Klaus settled into the couch.

“So, I figured we could have a sort of memorial service in the courtyard at sundown. Say a few words, just at Dad’s favorite spot.” Luther said acting unsure of himself

“Dad had a favorite spot?” Allison cut in. Klaus rolled his eyes at the dumbfounded look on Luther’s face because of course he thought Dad spent any time with any of the rest of them outside of training.

“You know, under the oak tree. We used to sit out there all the time. None of you ever did that?” Luther said sounding confused. At the looks on everyone’s faces it became clear that Reginald only had ever done it with his precious Number One.

“Will there be refreshments?” David asked sliding into the room to curl at Klaus’s feet. Klaus knew no one else could see or hear his daemon so he repeated the question with a mischievous grin. Luther was giving him a look like he thought Klaus was off his rocker

“Tea? Sones? Cucumber sandwiches are always a winner.” He added as he lit up a cigarette, his only vice these days.

“What? No. And put that out. Dad didn’t allow smoking in here.” Luther snapped. Klaus grinned and took a deep drag only to blow the smoke out at Luther.

“Klaus.” Ruby said, drawing the name out. Klaus rolled his eyes and took a sip of his drink

“Listen up. Still some important things that we need to discuss, all right?” Luther said when it became clear that he wasn’t going to be able to force Klaus to put his cigarette out.

“Like what?” Diego snapped.

“Like the way he died.” Luther snapped back. Klaus rolled his eyes. Luther was such a shit, their father had died of natural causes. He had been dying even before the heart attack.

“And here we go.” Diego said with a sigh

“I don’t understand. I thought they said it was a heart attack.” Vanya said. She’d been quiet, stroking through Edwin’s feathers while everyone argued around her.

“Yeah, according to the coroner.” Luther said.

“Well wouldn’t they know?” Vanya asked and Luther looked like he was getting annoyed

“Theoretically.” He said and it sounded like it pained him to admit that.

“Theoretically?” Allison asked, she sounded like she couldn’t believe Luther was being such an idiot and Klaus had to agree, Luther was being a rather large idiot about this.

“I’m just saying, at the very least, something happened.” Luther said before adding, “The last time that I talked to Dad, he sounded strange.”

“Oh, quelle surprise.” David muttered and Klaus had to take a drag of his cigarette to keep the laughter from bubbling out of him

“Strange how?” Allison asked and Luther seemed to relax since it seemed she was taking him seriously.

“He sounded on edge. Told me I should be careful who to trust.” Luther said and Diego, who had been staying out of the conversation for the most part, scoffed

“Luther he was a paranoid, bitter old man. Who was starting to lose what was left of his marbles.” Diego said as if he had had this conversation already. Maybe he had, this definitely seemed like a thing that Luther would be a dog with a bone about.

“No. He must have known something was going to happen. Look, I know you don't like to do it, but I need you to talk to Dad.” Luther said turning his attention back on Klaus. Klaus cocked his head, sharing a glance with David before taking a drag of his cigarette. He knew everyone was watching, waiting. He let out a stream of smoke as he exhaled

“No.” He said before downing his drink and taking another drag from his cigarette. Everyone seemed shocked at Klaus’ answer. Well, everyone except Diego who was looking like he wanted to punch Luther.

“What do you mean no?” Luther asked and Klaus leveled him with a glare that made the giant take a step back

“Exactly what it sounds like. I can say it in other languages too if that would help. Nein. Niet, não, nee, nahi.” He said. Allison looked like she was fighting back a smile and Vanya was looking at him like he had two heads.

“Klaus, where’s David?” Allison asked. Klaus froze, the cigarette slipping from his fingers and landing on the floor. Vanya hurried to stomp it out.

“Somewhere around here.” He said when he caught himself. Diego had a pained look on his face but hid it quickly when Klaus narrowed his eyes at him.

“Back on topic. There's still the issue of the missing monocle.” Luther said.

“Who gives a shit about a stupid monocle?” Diego asked, his well known temper starting to rear its ugly head. Klaus could feel said ‘missing’ item heat up in his pocket. He had found Mom holding it at her charge port that morning, had taken it from her unmoving fingers. He suspected she had something to do with Reginald’s sudden death. He also knew that Luther would want to tear her apart if he thought she had killed his beloved father. So in order to protect the only person he had stayed in touch with, he had taken the monocle.

“Exactly. It’s worthless. So whoever took it, I think it was personal. Someone close to him. Someone with a grudge.” Luther said

“Where are you going with this?” Klaus asked, he thought he knew but he wanted Luther to say it so he wouldn’t feel so bad when he stabbed out one of the giant’s eyes

“Oh, isn’t it obvious, Klaus?” Diego said as he stalked towards the door, “He thinks one of us killed Dad.” Klaus stood. Setting his glass down on the coffee table

“You do.” He said softly, his voice dangerous in a way no one had heard it before. Diego froze halfway out the door. Astrid was right behind him and turned to watch Klaus with large worried eyes

“How could you think that.” Allison asked sounding both shocked and horrified

“That’s not what I’m saying.” Luther said, trying to backpedal quickly. Vanya shook her head and rose as well. It seemed everyone was leaving and Luther made on last ditch to bring them all back to his little meeting

“I’ve not finished.” He said as Vanya slid past Diego and out of the room. Diego turned, arms crossed across his chest.

“Sorry, I’m just gonna go murder Mom. Be right back.” Klaus said before stalking out the door. He knew Diego was following him so he headed to his room instead of stalking out the door. He flopped face down on the bed and groaned

“Who the fuck does he think he is?” Klaus snapped but it was muffled by his pillow. Diego chuckled at him and Klaus felt heat color his cheeks. He wasn’t sure how Diego could get such real reactions out of him. They hadn’t seen each other in years, over a decade, and he still could make Klaus blush like a girl.

“Wanna go make some cookies?” Diego asked and Klaus hid his face so Diego wouldn’t seen the grin on it.

“I’ll let you lick the icing bowl.” Diego teased and Klaus felt fingers dance up his sides. He laughed

“Stop. I’m pissed.” Klaus said but truth be told he had expected Luther to say all those things or something similar.

“Come on. Luther’s a idiot, he has his head stuck so far up Dad’s ass that he probably gives him indigestion.” Diego said rolling Klaus onto his back. Klaus let out a soft sigh, holding in the giggles at Diego’s comment since it was something he had thought many times. Diego was hovering over him, a fond smile on his face.

“Promise?” Klaus asked cheekily and Diego gave a bark of laughter

“Yeah, why do you think Dad was always so pissy?” Diego asked and Klaus let the giggles out. Diego pressed a kiss to his lips and stood

“Come on, let’s go make some cookies.” He said holding his hand out for Klaus to take. Klaus allowed himself to be pulled down to the kitchen. Mom wasn’t in sight so they started pulling out the ingredients to her famous pumpkin cookies with a buttercream frosting. Klaus heard the music first and rolled his eyes.

“The apology song.” He muttered as the music got louder. Diego slid the first batch of cookies out of the oven and set the tray on the hot pads.

“It’s alway the same song.” Diego said but there was amusement in his voice. Klaus mouthed the words as they echoed around the house, his foot tapping along to the beat.

“I think we’re alone now.” Diego sang along and Klaus was reminded of how beautiful Diego’s singing voice was. He turned to watch Diego dance thought he wasn’t sure who had taught the other man those moves. They were so awful it caused Klaus to laugh.

“Are you laughing at me?” Diego asked but he was laughing too

“Your moves suck.” Klaus said, his smile threatening to split his face in two. Diego obviously took it as a challenge, sweeping Klaus away from where he’d been leaning on the table and pulling him into a crazy swaying and shuffling dance.

“I missed you.” Klaus said softly and Diego hummed. A bird flew into the room and Diego stepped away from Klaus quickly

“Conner?” He asked and Klaus felt the moment they had been having evaporate. A beautiful woman stepped into the room and smiled at Diego

“Hey babe.” She said pressing a kiss to Diego’s cheek.

Eudora, what are you doing here?” Diego asked returning the kiss. Klaus moved to take the cookies off the tray so he could hide the tremor in his hands. He tuned out the conversation that was happening behind him as he loaded the tray up with fresh dough and slid it into the oven. A hand on his arm pulled him out of his head and he turned to see Diego looking at him with a closed off look

“Klaus, this is Eudora, my girlfriend. Eudora, this is my brother Klaus.” Diego said. The woman held her hand out for him to shake but he just brushed past her and headed out of the room. He headed up to his bedroom and grabbed his thick black jacket, pulling it on. David was sitting on the bed, already materialized.

“What happened?” Ben asked from the corner where he had been reading. Klaus pulled his gloves on and then held out his arm for David to slide up. The snake did as prompted and Klaus shifted his jacket to hide the extra bulk. He pulled his drawer open and pulled out his knife and his domino mask.

“Where are we going?” Ben asked and Klaus slid out the door.

“Out.” He said sharply, his voice low to avoid being overheard. He headed to the fire escapte and slid out the window.

“The funeral hasn’t even happened.” Ben said following him as he slid down the ladder to the ground. Klaus strapped his knife to his belt and tucked his jacket over it.

“Doesn’t matter. We have scum to take care of.” Klaus said darkly. Ben sighed but followed Klaus as he stalked down the sidewalk.

 

Klaus cornered his pedophile in a sidestreet that was empty hours later. The man had been more paranoid than expected but Klaus was nothing if not resourceful, using ghosts to narrow down the man’s movements and to help track him. Once the man was paralyzed, he pulled his knife out. The metal blade shone in the lamplight like the puddles that covered the ground.

“A finger for each little boy? Seems fair, hm? That would be eight fingers. Doesn’t leave you with much but at least you’ll have something.” Klaus said setting his boot down on one hand and pressing down painfully

“You stupid whore!” The man snarled and Klaus tisked

“I have sold my body, that is true. Turns out being a whore isn’t all that different from what I do now.” He said. The man’s daemon was a rat as it wiggled out of the man’s pocket. David struck like a whip, wrapping around the thing and giving it a dose.

“Now, let’s begin.” Klaus murmured taking his foot off the man’s hand and laying his knife over the left pinky

“Feel free to scream, this is going to be a long process.” He said before beginning. The man screamed for the first three fingers and then lay there panting for the next. Klaus was gracious enough to leave him his thumb as he moved to the next hand.

“Klaus.” Ben said as a warning and Klaus looked up to see a girl, no older than fourteen standing at a door further down the street. Her eyes were wide as she watched him. He straightened up and she stumbled back

“Go back inside.” He said in a menacing voice. She scrambled for the handle and dashed inside

“How long will it take for the cops to get here?” Klaus asked turning to Ben. The ghost shrugged

“Not long. Ten minutes tops.” He said and Klaus nodded. He kneeled back down and started working again. Five minutes later he had taken all the fingers he required and wiped the blood off on the man’s shirt.

“Feel free to tell the pigs when they arrive that your wounds are courtesy of the Black Mamba.” He said before dashing down the street. He ducked into an alley and tore the mask off tucking it into a inside pocket of his jacket.

“You need to disappear David.” he said and the snake beside him faded into nothing. Klaus checked over his clothes and found a few splatters of blood on his jacket and jeans. He sighed but knew he would have to dispose of the clothes later. He ducked out of the alley and strolled down the street back towards the Academy. He wasn’t far when Diego’s car pulled up beside him. Diego shoved the door open and grabbed him by the arm

“Where have you been?” He snapped and Klaus shrugged

“Out.” He said and then when he caught the worried look on Diego’s face the anger that had filled him at realizing Diego had a girlfriend melted slightly

“Sorry.” He mumbled. Diego let out a soft growl and shoved Klaus towards the car

“Get in. I have a crime scene to get to and I’m not letting you walk home alone with this asshole in the area.” Diego said. Klaus slid into the passenger’s seat of the Impala that Diego drove and buckled himself in. Astrid was in the backseat, laying across the three seats and gave Klaus a soft greeting when he reached back to scratch her ear. Diego pulled off the curb and back onto the road. The ride was silent until they pulled up to the street Klaus had just cut the pedo’s fingers off

“Stay in the car, okay?” Diego said and Klaus nodded. Diego slid out of the car and left the door open as he walked over to two officers in uniforms. Klaus watched him until it grew boring and he shut his eyes. He hadn’t meant to fall asleep but woke with a start when Diego slid back into the car.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you.” Diego said and Klaus nodded.

“Didn’t mean to fall asleep. What happened?” He asked even though he knew. Diego sighed and for a moment Klaus thought Diego wasn’t going to tell him about the case. Instead Diego laid out what the cops knew about a vigilante named Black Mamba who was mutilating people who were allegid rapists, abusers, and molesters. Klaus listened to everything and realized he was closer to getting caught then he had thought. He would have to lay off for a bit, go to ground and pick up the work at a later date.

“Sounds like a real piece of work.” Klaus said when Diego finished. Diego gave a soft laugh

“I almost wish I didn’t have to catch the guy to be honest. Yeah, it’s my job but this guy is helping a lot of people even if his methods aren’t the most legal. These sort of cases are nearly impossible to win for the victims and most of the jail time done by the perps are next to nothing. These guys get off and then go find another victim.” Diego ranted. Klaus let a small smile slide onto his face.

“I had a friend, Nyomi, she was raped when she was nineteen. I was twenty. The cops threw out the case because they said there wasn’t enough proof. She lost herself that night.” Klaus said softly looking out the window. A hand slid onto his knee and he laid his own hand over it

“What happened to her?” Diego asked. Klaus swallowed thickly

“She liked to walk the bridges at night. Said the reflection of the moon on the water was peaceful. One night we were walking along the Walkway over the Hudson when she stopped. If I had been quicker maybe I could have stopped her but I was high and my reaction was too slow. She said she was sorry and then threw herself over the edge.” Klaus said. There was only silence until they reached the Academy and Diego had parked the car in the drive. He shut the car off and turned to Klaus, cupping his face in his hands

“Her death wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. You can’t blame yourself.” He said and Klaus nodded

“It’s why I got clean. I couldn’t stand to be high anymore.” Klaus said. Diego leaned in and gave Klaus a soft kiss. Klaus pulled away after a second.

“We can’t do this.” He murmured, pulling Diego’s hands from his face. Diego got a hurt and confused look on his face

“What?” He asked and Klaus gave him a bittersweet smile

“You have a girlfriend and I refuse to be the other woman.” He said before sliding out of the car. He strolled into the Academy and made a beeline for the kitchen. In the fridge was a large bag of cookies with a note written on it

_These are for Klaus. Touch and die._

Klaus smiled and pulled the bag out. He opened it and pulled one out, taking a bite of the confectionary goodness.

“Good to see you Klaus. Or should I call you Black Mamba.” A woman’s voice said from behind him. Klaus turned, cookie hanging out of his mouth to see an unfamiliar blond woman standing in the doorway. He swallowed what was in his mouth

“Who are you?” He asked and she smiled a smile that matched the coral snake wound around her neck

“I’m both a friend and a fan.” The woman said, “Why don’t we talk.”


	4. You can be a sweet dream or a beautiful nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So fair warning, Eudora isn't a good person in this fic. I have no hate for her, I actually really liked her character but for the sake of this fic she's a shitty girlfriend.

Allison watched Klaus help Mom in the kitchen. They were making a roast for dinner and as they did so Klaus was telling the android a story about his time on the streets. It was farfetched so Allison thought it was probably fake but it made Mom happy. 

“Do you think you could finish this on your own? I have to go dust your father’s study. You know how he gets when it’s not clean.” Mom said. A sad look crossed Klaus’ face and he pressed a kiss to her cheek

“Go ahead. I’m capable of putting this in the fridge for later.” He said and she cupped his face

“It’s so good to see you again.” She said before leaving the kitchen. Allison took this chance to corner her brother

“Hey.” He said without looking at her. She leaned against the table

“Hey, where’d you go last night?” She asked, shoving her hands into her pockets. Klaus shrugged

“Out. Needed time to think.” He said. Allison nodded even though he couldn’t see her

“About what?” She pressed, forcing her voice to stay light. She had a good idea what had lead to Klaus sneaking away like a thief in the night. The sudden appearance of a girlfriend for Diego had shocked everyone. Allison, like the rest of the family, had assumed Diego and Klaus were going to pick up where they had left off. The two of them had always been joined at the hip, even when they were toddlers. Mom had told a story about Diego and Luther getting into fights because Luther would try and steal Klaus’ toys. 

“Just drop it Alli, I don’t feel like talking about it.” Klaus said sounding tired. She hadn’t heard him come back so it must have been late. Diego had been called shortly after Five’s reappearance to go to a crime scene. He’d come back around eleven but Allison wasn’t sure if Klaus had come back before or after him

“Tell me what’s wrong.” She said moving to stand behind him. His fingers were clenched around the roasting pan edges, the knuckles of his fingers white. 

“He tried to make me the other woman. Like I’m some cheap whore who he can discard when his girlfriend finds out.” Klaus said but Allison knew it wasn’t the only thing bugging him.

“To be fair, I think his feelings for you are real. You two have always had a connection that me and Luther could never have hoped to achieve.” Allison said. Klaus let out a bark of laughter, void of any emotions

“Yeah, well, we don’t exactly have much in common anymore. It’s been years Alli. Sometimes I don’t even recognize myself.” He said. His voice was bitter and filled with hatred that she had never heard from him. 

“What happened to you Klaus? You used to be so sweet, so kind.” She said.  _ So optimistic _ went unsaid but she thought it. Klaus pushed past her, opening the fridge and sliding the roasting pan into it. 

“There’s too much to cover. To much to say. That kid that you knew is gone though. He died on the streets.” Klaus said. Allison frowned and reached out for Klaus. 

“Tell me. I won’t judge.” She promised. Klaus shifted and nodded

“Not here. Dad used to record everything. If I tell you what I’ve done and what’s been done to me there can’t be any recordings of the conversation.” He said. Allison gave him a soft smile

“I know the perfect place.” She said.

 

Klaus sat down beside his sister on the bench. They were in a small park, not far from the river but also not far from the Academy. 

“You never said what David settled as. I don’t think I’ve seen him since we got back.” Allison said and Klaus fingered the little metal bug cage he carried to avoid questions. 

“What type of bug is he?” She asked, pressing. Klaus uncliped the cage and handed it over to her. She took it, confused when she opened it and it was empty.

“I don’t understand.” She said and Klaus took a shaky breath

“David’s dead. I’d been on the streets for two months, maybe three. Time was so hard to keep track of back then. We were holed up in an alley, getting ready to sleep for the night when a group of guys cornered us. He tried to stop them. I was too high to help.” Klaus said, his mind replaying what had happened in his head

**_“What do we have here boys?” The ringleader asked, nudging Klaus with his toe. Klaus shot him a weak glare and David hissed threateningly at them._ **

**_“Aw, poor junkie’s got a pet snake. Don’t worry, we just want a good time.”_ **

“What happened?” Allison asked and Klaus realized he was digging his nails into his legs painfully

“When they were done with me they cut his head off and he turned to nothing but golden dust.” Klaus said, forcing his voice to remain even. 

“Klaus, no no one can survive without their daemon. It’s not possible. For you to have gone this long without a daemon is impossible.” Allison said. Klaus shrugged

“He’s still here, still with me. He’s just one of the ghosts now.” He said softly. Allison pursed her lips and Klaus shrugged

“I’m not sure how it works. I guess it has something to do with my abilities.” He said and she nodded

“Tell me what you’ve been up to.” She said and he leaned back on the bench to look into the sky. 

“I can’t tell you everything. Some of the things I’ve done should never be spoken of.” He said and felt her put her hand on his shoulder

“I’m here for you Klaus, no matter what you’ve done.” She said and he looked over at her. She gave him a soft smile and he started his story. He told her about Nyomi and getting clean. He hesitated before beginning to tell her about becoming the Black Mamba, about the earlier years when he had been so full of rage and hatred for the people he punished. He told her about how David could materialize into solid form to help him and how Ben was their conscience. When he was done she looked like she was going to both cry and punch someone

“You might think what I do is wrong but these people, they aren’t innocent. I have never hurt anyone who didn’t deserve it. I use the police reports and ghosts to make sure these people have done what I accuse them of.” He said and she nodded

“I know, you have a big heart Klaus. You seek to protect those who cannot protect themselves. Have I ever told you about a man named Ryan Whimble? He was a director of one of my earlier movies. He liked to touch the women he worked with and he got away with it because we all were afraid he would fire us.” She said and Klaus relaxed. She understood what he did, she wasn’t disgusted or repulsed by his work

“That’s where I went last night. There was a pedo who needed to be taken care of.” Klaus said and Allison nodded

“And Diego getting called out for a crime scene.” She said slowly, starting to put the pieces together

“He’s working my case. The Black Mamba cases.” Klaus said. Allison shook her head

“You have the worst luck.” She said and Klaus laughed.

“Yeah, they’re pretty close to catching on to how I’m getting my victims. I’m going to have to lay low for a while.” Klaus said and Allison cupped his cheek

“Don’t worry too much Klaus. Everything will work out fine.” She said before standing, “We should get back to the Academy. Leaving Diego and Luther together in the house for any length of time without supervision is a bad idea.” Klaus stood and they walked back to the Academy in silence. Klaus left her to go find Diego when they reached the Academy giving her a small nod. He found his brother in the gym, punching at a bag in the corner. Diego stopped when he saw Klaus and turned to give him a smile

“Hey.” Diego said and Klaus nodded. His throat had gone dry at the tattoos his brother had been hiding under his sweater. On his left forearm was a sugar skull and under his right pec was an aztec style eagle. 

“You okay?” Diego asked grabbing a towel off the floor and wiping himself down

“Yeah, didn’t know you had ink.” Klaus said and Diego shrugged

“Wanted to feel closer to my heritage. What about you, do you have any tattoos I don’t know about?” Diego asked. Klaus’ fingers traced the balloon on his wrist before moving to pull up his shirt. He turned so Diego could see his ribs properly. Curled across the left side of his ribcage, sitting on his seventh rib as if it was a line on a page in Klaus’ tilted handwriting were the words ‘et in tenebris vitae inveni.’. Diego stepped close, close enough the Klaus could feel the heat radiating from his skin. He brushed his fingers over the words with a feather light touch that send sparks through Klaus’ skin

“What does it mean?” Diego asked, his eyes never leaving the tattoo as he traced over it again

“And in the darkness I found life.” Klaus said softly. Diego murmured the words, his eyes sliding up to meet Klaus. Klaus had the overwhelming urge to kiss his brother. They were so close, he would only need to lean in and press his lips to Diego’s. 

“Klaus.” Diego said and it was barely more than a breathless whisper. Klaus surged forward and pressed his lips to Diego’s, his hands moving to thread into the Latino’s hair. Diego deepened the kiss, his own hands pulling Klaus flush with his sweaty body. Diego kissed like he was going to the gallows, like it was the last time he ever would. It was rough and dirty and oh so good. He nipped Klaus’ lip before pulling back and letting Klaus breath. 

“You’re so beautiful.” Diego murmured, a hand coming up and he stroked his thumb along Klaus’ cheekbones

“You’re not bad to look at yourself.” Klaus said, his voice light. Diego leaned in for another kiss and Klaus gave it to him. They were just about to break again for air when Klaus heard something shatter in the doorway. Diego jumped away from him and Klaus slowly turned to see Eudora standing there. 

“Eudora, I can explain.” Diego said, holding his hands out placatingly. The woman looked pissed, at her feet was a broken glass, what looked like orange juice spreading across the wooden floors. Klaus took a step back and Diego shuffled him behind him, so that he was between his girlfriend and his brother. 

“What the hell Diego.” Eudora spat and Diego flinched. Klaus saw how tense Diego’s shoulders had gotten and he knew his brother, he could be relaxed in the middle of a firefight with bank robbers. 

“Eudora, please.” Diego said and she gave a scoffing laugh

“I think we need to talk Diego. Alone.” She said and Klaus’ eyes widened at her tone. It was dangerous and Diego winced at it. Slowly, Diego turned to Klaus and gave him a weak smile

“I’ll see you later, yeah?’ He asked and Klaus nodded, unable to find words for the guilt that he was feeling but also for the rage at what Diego’s tentativeness implied. 

“Yeah.” He said softly before sliding out of the room. He was halfway down the hall when he heard Eudora’s voice raise. He couldn’t make out the words but he really didn’t want to know what she was saying. He slammed his bedroom door behind him and turned to Ben

“How fast can we put together a job?” He asked and Ben looked at him with wide eyes

“I thought we were laying low?” He asked and Klaus shook his head

“I need to blow some steam. We’re still banned from the undergrounds for another two months.” He said. David slid out from under the bed

“I heard rumors of a woman date-raping guys and robbing them blind at the bar, when we were tailing the guy with the crow daemon.” He hissed. Klaus nodded

“Start putting feelers out. Get in contact with the usuals. I want to move on this tomorrow.” He said. Ben sighed

“Is this about Eudora? Because Diego didn’t tell you he was dating her?” He asked and Klaus shook his head

“She’s abusing him. He’s afraid of her. Tenses up like he used to with Dad.” Klaus said as he sat down on the bed heavily. David slid up his leg and materialized so he could be stroked. 

“Oh. Shit.” Ben said before vanishing. Klaus assumed he was going to go check on Diego.

“I miss Astrid.” David said softly. Klaus slid his fingers down the snake’s spine

“I know. One day we’ll tell them.” He said and David scoffed

“We tell them about me being able to materialize we’ll have to tell them everything.” David said. Klaus sighed

“Then we tell them everything. Allison took it pretty well.” He said. David leveled him with a look that said he as an idiot.

“Allison’s not the cop on our case. Allison is the girl who put nair in Pogo’s shampoo when he threatened to go to our father about her sneaking out to do that play.” David said and Klaus smiled at the reminder of the month that Pogo’s fur had been patchy

“True. She believes in revenge.” Klaus agreed. Personally he thought she had always felt bad for him, being the most useless out of them besides Vanya. 

“Now what do we do tonight?” David asked and Klaus shrugged

“Go out to a bar, pick up some stranger and try to forget my own last name.” Klaus said and David scoffed

“You’ve haven’t been that drunk in a long time. I doubt your liver could take it anymore.” He said and Klaus grinned

“No, no I haven’t.” He mused. David slid back into his ghost form and slid out the room via the still shut door. Klaus had always wondered what it was like to go through solid objects. A knock on his door made him roll his eyes. He was about to tell whoever it was he was busy when the door opened and the one sibling he hadn’t seen yet strode in

“How good are you at getting into places you’re not supposed to be?” Five asked and Klaus cocked his head

“Pretty good. Why?” He asked and Five tossed him an object. Klaus caught it and looked down at it in confusion

“What’s the deal with the fake eye? You planning to lose one of your own?” He asked and Five rolled his eyes

“The owner of that eye destroys the world at the end of the week.” Five said and Klaus frowned

“Well shit.” He muttered before tossing the eye back and standing, he grabbed his coat and headed towards the door. When Five didn’t follow he turned back

“You comming?” He asked.


	5. In the land of gods and monsters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little Five and Klaus bonding, alcohol, and then a meeting.

Klaus ruffled the glitter out Five’s hair, smirking as it messed up the carefully placed strands

“Why the hell did you do that? We were so close to getting information from him and you got us kicked out.” Five asked angrily and Klaus shrugged, not exactly phased by his brother’s aggressive tone. Five was like a little lion cub most of the time, there was the threat that he would be dangerous one day but he was little more than all talk at this point.

“Needed a distraction to steal his flash drive.” He said holding up the little rectangular device, he had pulled from the idiot man’s computer while everyone had been in shock over him breaking the snowglobe on Five’s head.. Five’s eyes widened then narrowed, obviously trying to figure out why the drive was important. Klaus didn’t tell him yet, wanting him to ask. After all, the saying was ‘ask and ye shall receive’.

“Why do we need some flash drive?” He asked finally and Klaus sighed dramatically.

“I overheard him talking on the phone when you were bothering his receptionist that he was doing a full audit and inventory with another person in production. This flash drive contains the information we need.” Klaus said and Five’s eyes widened comically. He went to snatch it out of Klaus’ hand but Klaus stopped him

“I think you’d better give me my money now.” He said and Five grumbled but passed over the twenty he’d promised Klaus. Klaus passed him the drive in return and Five moved away as if Klaus was going to snatch it back. Klaus tucked the twenty into his pocket and moved to head down the street towards a shadier part of town. He didn’t expect his brother to fall into step with him, having thought Five would teleport away to go play with his new drive

“What can I do for you Five?” Klaus asked, amused and a little wary. Five had never been close to him, had always found Klaus to be immature and had let everyone know how much he disliked Klaus’ antics. Klaus hadn’t cared much for Five either but it had been more of an indifference. Five wasn’t liked nor disliked by Klaus, he was just another brother.

“You seem different. Not like Vanya’s book described.” Five said and he sounded like he was working through a particularly hard puzzle. Klaus figured Five was behind the curve, having to rely on that stupid book for information on their family

“To be fair to her, she wrote that on old information. When Extra Ordinary came out I was two months sober.” Klaus said with a dark chuckle. He had holed up in a bookstore just to read her book the day after it came out. The fact that she had called him immature and childish because his daemon hadn’t settled when they were eighteen and said it was most likely that David would never settle because Klaus would never grow up had been one of the worst things that he had ever heard, especially since David had died. Paired with the way she made Diego sound like a unhinged, bloodthirsty monster made him hate her. That had translated over into his fighting and he had put five men in the hospital when he found them hassling a working girl. 

“Congratulations on your sobriety.” Five said and Klaus shrugged. It was old news at this point, he had gotten used to the itch under his skin until, like the ghosts, it just faded into white noise. 

“Why are you following me Five? Shouldn’t you be more concerned about saving the world?” Klaus asked because he was getting close to his destination and really didn’t need his brother, who looked thirteen, following him into that particular bar. 

“I’m curious about you.” Five said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Klaus rolled his eyes but they had arrived at the bar called ‘The Rabbit Hole’ but more commonly known by its patrons as ‘Rabbit’s’. Klaus pushed the door open and let Five enter before him. 

“Klaus!” The bartender cheered and Klaus gave her a salute

“Hook me up Alice.” He said sliding onto a barstool. Five sat down beside him

“Who’s your friend?” Alice asked sliding a shot of vodka over. Klaus downed the shot before answering

“This is my brother Five. Don’t let his looks fool you, he’s older than me.” Klaus said with a sly grin. Alice saddled over, leaning on the bar to look Five over. She was a good judge of character and Klaus was a little curious how she would judge Five. If she liked him she’d offer him a good drink if she didn’t he would get water.

“Want a shot cutie?” She asked, her accent thick in the words and Five narrowed his eyes

“Sure.” He said slowly as if he was questioning her motives. Alice grinned. She prepped two more vodka shots and set them down before the brothers. Klaus downed his second shot and Five moved to follow. He choked on the alcohol and Klaus thumped him on the back

“Breathe, Five.” He said, a grin on his face that was mirrored on Alice’s

“What the hell was that?” Five gasped when he finally got his airways cleared and Alice laughed a deep rumbling laugh

“You don’t like? It’s homebrewed.” She said and Klaus snorted

“Welcome to Rabbit’s, where the vodka is brewed in the back at eight-five percent alcohol.” He said with a mischievous grin. Five narrowed his eyes

“Give me another.” He said and Klaus waved down Alice again

“My brother would like another round.” He said and Alice nodded

“Strong lad, put hair on his chest.” She said pouring another two shots. Klaus downed his once more and Five drank his carefully. When he didn’t cough or splutter Alice exclaimed something in Russian that Klaus couldn’t translate

“There you go kid!” She said before turning to Klaus and switching over to Russian

“Usual exchange?” She said and Klaus nodded. She reached under the counter and pulled out a notepad, passing it over when he handed her a sole slip of paper. She gave him names of guys she caught slipping shit into drinks and he gave her the names of the people he took care of. She opened the slip and grunted

“Only five?” She asked and he shrugged

“My father died. Sue me.” He said sliding off his barstool and clapping Five on the shoulder. 

“Come on darling. There’s no way I’m leaving you here.” He said. Five got off his barstool and swayed for a moment. 

“I’m going-” Five began before he hurled all over the floor. 

“Well that ends your day.” He said scooping his thirteen year old brother up into his arms bridal style and stepping around the puddle of puke. Alice swore at him in Russian but he ignored her in favor of carrying his brother out of the bar. They caught a taxi back to the Academy and Klaus had just finished tucking Five back into his bed when Diego appeared

“What happened to him?” He asked peering at Five over Klaus’ shoulder

“Couldn’t hold his alcohol.” Klaus said pushing past Diego and leaving Five’s room. Diego followed, spluttering

“What the hell was he doing drinking?” He asked and Klaus entered his own bedroom 

“I didn’t tell him to drink. He’s a big boy, he didn’t have to follow me into that bar.” Klaus said sliding his knife off his belt and putting it away in his drawer. He turned to Diego who was looking at him like he had two heads

“What were  _ you _ doing in a bar. It’s not even one?” Diego asked and Klaus sighed

“I was checking on a friend. She runs the place. Usually her kind of crowd is rough, I like to make sure she’s in one piece every once in a while.” Klaus said and it was a complete lie. Alice had come to America from Russia when she was thirteen years old with her mafia-connected father and could take care of herself. Klaus went there for the information and the cage fighting that happened in the basement.

“You need to be careful Klaus. Eudora’s not happy with either of us. You don’t want her knowing you let our underage brother drink.” He said sitting down on Klaus’ bed. Klaus sunk down beside him, so close their shoulders were pressed together and their thighs touched

“There’s not much she can do to me Diego. I’m more worried about you.” He said and Diego shrugged

“I can take care of myself.” He assured Klaus but Klaus shook his head

“I know you can, you’re the strongest guy I know. Doesn’t mean I don’t worry. Danger comes in all forms.” He said and Diego gave him an odd look

“When did you become so wise?” He asked, his voice light and Klaus smiled at him

“Dunno, maybe I caught a bug.” He joked and Diego let out a bark of laughter. Klaus rested his head on Diego’s shoulder.

“What were you doing at the bar?” Diego asked and Klaus pulled away

“Nothing, Dee. Just checking up on a friend.” He said. Diego hummed

“Then why does your breath smell like vodka?” He asked and Klaus snorted

“I had a couple of shots. That should have been obvious.” He said standing and cracking his back. He turned to his brother and cupped his face gently

“Relax brother dear, I wasn’t doing anything unsavory. Ask Five when he wakes.” He said. Diego looked like he wanted to argue further but didn’t. Simply nodded and stood

“I should go.” He said nervously and Klaus saluted him sloppily. 

“Take care. You tend to think with the wrong head.” He said teasingly and Diego grinned, shaking his head and hiding his laughter

“Be careful. Thinking is a foreign concept for you.” Diego shot back and Klaus laughed. Diego left and Klaus fell face forward on the soft comforter on the bed, to muffle his groans

“Do you think we should go out for lunch?  I was thinking tacos.” Klaus said and Ben chuckled from his position in the corner. 

“I could go for some tacos. There’s that little place down of 43rd that makes their own spicy salsa.” Ben said and Klaus shot off the bed

“That’s it then. We will go to that little place on 43rd that makes their own spicy salsa.” He said digging through his drawers and pulling out baggies of drug

“What are you doing with those?” Ben asked  incredulously and Klaus shrugged

“We need money to get tacos. Selling these will get us enough.” Klaus said and Ben sighed

“Go to my room. There’s a hot chocolate can in there, it should be full of money.” Ben said, his voice worn, his face twisted as if telling Klaus this pained him. Klaus turned to his brother with narrowed eyes

“And why am I just hearing about this magical hot chocolate can?” He asked and Ben shot him one of his signature looks

“Because that money was mine. Now go get it, I want tacos.” He said crossing his arms across his chest. Klaus slid out of his room, checking to make sure the coast was clear before darting into Ben’s room. The can was sitting on a high shelf in Ben’s closet and inside had to be over a thousand dollars in twenties, fifties, and hundreds. Klaus pulled out two twenties and slid the top onto the can again, placing it back in it’s spot. He tucked the money into his pocket and slid back out of Ben’s room. They made their way down to the front door. 

“Where are you going?” Luther’s deep voice snapped and Klaus turned to see his brother standing in the doorway to the sitting room. Ben gave a little ‘eep’ noise and blinked away

“Well Ben told me about this place on 43rd that makes spicy salsa and I’m nothing if not a slut for spicy salsa so I decided to go check it out.” Klaus said with a lopsided grin

“You need to focus on talking to Dad. We need to know what happened?” Luther snapped and Klaus gave him a fake pout for two seconds before his grin returned

“Nah, the old man is probably playing tennis in hell with Hitler. I’d hate to disrupt that bonding session.” Klaus said and Luther stalked forward

“Don’t pull that shit with me Klaus. This is important.” He snarled and Klaus backed up until his back hit a wall. Luther had boxed him in and all the warning bells in Klaus’ head were screaming bloody murder

“I don’t have to do what you say anymore Luther. I haven’t had to take orders from anyone in years.” Klaus said, his hand sliding back to where he usually kept his knife on to realize he didn’t have it on him. Panic welled up in the back of his mind but he walled it off and focused on the threat in front of him. 

“Damn it Klaus, just do it!” Luther roared, grabbing Klaus by his shoulders and slamming him back against the wall. Klaus saw the cosmos flash across his vision as pain roared through him and ringing overtook his hearing. Pain welled up in him again, and then again for a third time. Then there were other voices, dull drones over the ringing. A soft touch brushed along his cheek and Klaus leaned into it before everything faded to dark.

 

Klaus opened his eyes to a monochrome world. He’s been here before, many times actually. He sighes even though there wasn’t exactly any air to breathe here in the realm of the dead. Standing he brushes off imaginary dirt and looks around for the little girl who’s always in charge. She’s waiting for him by an ice cream truck, her bike on the ground beside her so he walks up to her and politely bought her an ice cream

“Killed by your own brother.” She says as they walk away. He vaguely realizes she left her bike behind but doesn’t really care enough to point it out to her. 

“Well we all have our anger issues. I should have expected to be killed by one of my siblings eventually.” He said shoving his hands into his pockets. The ice cream cone in the girl’s hand looks tempting but he never dared eat in this world. Too afraid that it would be like the Greek legend about the goddess and the seeds. 

“Luther is rather strong. Maybe I should have given him more of a brain to go with that strength.” The girl mused and Klaus shrugged

“It doesn’t really matter anymore, does it? When can I go back?” He asked and she gave a soft laugh

“You don’t want to stay?” She asked, her voice amused at his question

“Rather not. There’s not much to do up here and far too much to do down there.” He said. She stopped and turned to him

“I don’t like you Klaus. Not one bit. But I think I respect you more than anyone else I’ve ever created.” She said. Klaus gave her a lopsided grin

“Yeah? To be fair I don’t care too much for this place or you either so I guess we’re even.” He said. He could already feel the pull of the living world, like a fish hook that had been imbedded in his spine

“Goodbye Klaus. See you next time.” She said and then the monochrome world faded into nothing but black.


	6. We're off, full throttle to the floor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here is where cannon, which was clinging to the window by a few fingers, is thrown completely out the window. Kinda.

Klaus woke slowly, blinking away the remnants of sleep. Someone was arguing nearby, he wasn’t sure who. He was alone in his room except for Ben in the corner and he groaned

“You died again.” Ben said nonchalantly and Klaus pushed up to his elbows

“Yeah, fuck. I’m starving.” He said flopping back down on the bed in exasperation

“You usually are. How was God this time?” Ben asked and Klaus snorted

“She said she respects me which was trippy.” He said honestly as he sat back up, completely this time, and shoving his blankets off him. There was a gauze pad taped to the back of his head and he carefully pulled it off. Running his fingers over where it had been covering he was please that the wound had healed already. It always happened when he died, the fatal wound healing leaving nothing behind.

Non-fatal wounds, not so much so he still had to be careful but the fatal wounds always were gone when he woke back up

“Who’s fighting?” He asked standing and Ben shook his head

“Diego and his girlfriend. Diego stabbed Luther in his hands and Eudora isn’t happy about it.” Ben said. Klaus giggled. He could totally see Diego doing something like that. In fact he was sure Diego hadn’t done worse only because someone had probably stopped him. Diego had a temper a mile long and a soft spot for Klaus as deep as the mariana trench, everyone in their family knew that.

“Gotta love this fucked up family.” He muttered as he shuffled towards the door. He made his way down to the kitchen and peered into the fridge. There wasn’t anything already made, and he didn’t feel like leftover roast so he grabbed the eggs and a frying pan. 

“What are we making?” Ben asked as he cracked three eggs on the pan and started cooking. 

“I was thinking scrambled eggs and maybe some toast. Easy on the stomach.” He said as he cooked. Ben gave a content hum. 

Learning what he could eat after dying had been a bit of a trial and error. He would wake up starving but his stomach wouldn’t actually want a lot of food. At the beginning he would usually gorge himself before puking it all back up. 

Footsteps alerted him to someone approaching, they were heavy but didn’t sound like Luther. He turned and saw a man with a creepy blue bear mask on. He had a semi-automatic rifle in his hand but it was trained on the ground. Klaus cocked his head

“You must be the assassins.” He said waving the spatula in his hand at the man

“You must be Black Mamba.” The man said and Klaus shrugged

“Depends on who you ask. Why are you here?” He asked turning back to his eggs and scrambling them. 

“We’re looking for Five.” The assassin said and Klaus let out a hum. He slid the scrambled eggs onto a plate and picked up the hot frying pan. 

“We can’t let him hurt our family.” Ben said and Klaus grinned. In a flash he turned and threw the frying pan at the man’s midsection. It landed and the would be assassin let out a shout of pain. 

“No one fucks with my family.” Klaus said vaulting over the table and latching onto the man like a limpet. He clawed at the man who flailed underneath him until he was shoved off and onto the floor

“Big mistake.” The man snarled and Klaus gave him an unhinged grin. As the ghostly figure of his daemon slid through the man’s legs and curled up beside Klaus, mouth open and fangs ready to strike

“Bitch, please.” He said and David materialized beside him. The assassin seemed shocked at David’s sudden appearance but raised his gun. 

“Shit!” Ben shouted as Klaus flipped the family table and used it as a shield from the hail of bullets. David slipped back into invisible mode and slithered around the table to attack. Klaus knew he had gotten the guy when the gunfire stopped. He jumped up and over the overturned table and walked up to the man

“You should have done your research on us.” He said before grabbing the man’s gun and stepping over the man’s large frame. Ducking carefully down the hallways he madde his way to their dad’s office. Inside was a panel that controlled the entire house’s emergency settings. Most were just for training, turning off the lights, releasing robots that would attack anything that moved, and such. Klaus flipped the first switch and the house was plunged into darkness, the next switch brought the red emergency lights on and then he flipped two that would release the robots. He was just sneaking through the sitting room when a loud growl made him freeze. Standing by the door was a large mountain lion, coiled to leap at him. Klaus shifted minutely, getting ready to be in for a world of pain when a familiar bullmastiff tackled the cat. Klaus scrambled out of the room, leaving the two daemons to wrestle on their own. Ben scouted ahead as they made their way upstairs. 

“Robot ahead, headed this way.” Ben hissed and Klaus ducked into the first room he could. A hand cupped over his mouth as a knife was placed at his throat

“What the fuck.” Diego hissed, letting Klaus go and Klaus hurried to cover his mouth. Outside the room they could hear the faint whirring and clicking of the robot as it moved closer. Diego’s eyes widened, remembering how the things could knock them out with their electric prods. He pulled Klaus away from the door, the two of them pressed against the wall by it as they listened to the machine slowly make it’s way down the hall looking for a victim. It must have seen someone because the next thing they heard was an ear-piercing shriek and the robot went shooting past the open door. Klaus took his chance and darted out of the room, glancing back to see the robot grappling with a woman in a large mask. She seemed to be winning too so Klaus darted away towards the next hall. 

What happened next was both a blur and so slow he could have counted the seconds. As he rounded the corner a large green snake reared up. Klaus backtracked but it was too late, the snake had already started wrapping around him. That was when Diego arrived and David materialized almost at the same time. David struck the snake twice, once below the head and once further down. 

“Holy shit.” Diego swore as he helped untangle Klaus from the anaconda. David slithered up his leg and settled around his shoulders, flicking his tongue out at Diego who was staring wide eyed. 

“Snake got your tongue?” David asked before letting out a hissing chuckle. Klaus, having heard the joke a million times, rolled his eyes

“You’re not as funny as you think you are.” He said. There was the shrieking of gears grinding and Klaus peered around the corner to see the masked person crush the robot’s arm. 

“We need to go.” Klaus said grabbing Diego by the wrist and dragging him away from the more-likely-than-not pissed assassin. 

“I thought David was dead.” Diego hissed as they moved

“Technically I am. It seems since Klaus has power over the dead I am able to go back and forth. Alive, dead, both.” David said sliding down Klaus’ arm and across their linked hands. Klaus glanced back to see him wrap around Diego neck. 

“Remember that guy you hit with a frying pan?” Ben said blinking into the space beside Klaus

“Uh, yeah. I’d just cooked eggs, bashed him in his oversized gut.” Klaus said ducking into a room, Luther’s, and shutting the door

“Well he’s up and pissed. Just dropped the chandelier in the foyer on Luther.” Ben said and Klaus swore

“That’s impossible. He shouldn’t be able to move yet.” Klaus said, letting go of Diego in order to pace. 

“Just warning you.” Ben said and Klaus let out a growl

“I hate this. Come on.” He said pulling David off Diego. He poked his head out of the room and then darted towards the nearest stairs. He creeped along the shadows until he reached the foyer and found Luther and Allison standing there. 

“Get out of here.” he murmured to David who promptly disappeared from his arms. Stepping out from the shadows he gave the other two a cheeky grin

“Where’d the party go?” He asked and Allison snorted

“Out the door. They ran after Luther got up.” She said and Klaus grinned

“Well I’d run too with the amount of muscles on him. Look at him, it’s like he drank steroids as a baby.” Klaus teased. Luther scowled at him and stormed past. Diego came down the stairs moments later and Klaus made a hasty exit to make something new to eat. 

He was starving.

 

ChaCha met Hazel back at their motel, Titan still limp in her arms

“What the hell was that thing?” She demanded as she laid her prone daemon on her bed. Hazel seemed unsteady on his feet but was checking over his own daemon who had a nasty bite in her shoulder

“I don’t know but I didn’t even see it coming. One minute I’ve got the Black Mamba on the ground, the next there’s a fucking snake next to him, then the guy is flipping the table, I’m shooting at him and the snake is gone. Something bites me and I’m paralyzed on the ground.” Hazel said. ChaCha raised her eyebrow at that

“The snake disappeared? Are you high?” She asked and Hazel shot her a glare

“No! I’m serious! That snake was half ghost. I bet it’s what got Titan.” He said and ChaCha turned back to her daemon. He was just starting to stir, his body giving small spasms as whatever toxin was making its way out of his system.

“We need to do our research on this family. The damn bureaucrats didn’t tell us they were special. We should be getting hazard pay, at least.” Hazel grumbled and for once ChaCha had to agree with him. These Hargreeves seemed to be more trouble than they were getting paid for.

“Do we have anything to show for our trouble?” She asked and Hazel shook his head.

“No, I lost my gun too.” He said and ChaCha wanted to scream. It was  _ critical _ that they keep their weapons at all times. They had to turn in any weapon that wasn’t their main after the assignment was over

“Well it looks like we’ll have to return to that house at a later date.” She muttered. Hazel grumbled something about donuts and she rolled her eyes. 

Her partner always thought with his stomach more than his mind. They both froze when the familiar clink of a new job echoed around the room. Hazel opened the mini fridge and pulled out the canister

**_Capture Klaus Hargreeves_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I liked the idea where Reginald could set the house to 'attack mode' for training purposes.

**Author's Note:**

> Don't forget to comment if you liked this, give me some kudos, subscribe to keep up with the story and bookmark for easy access


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